


Lights Out in Abu Dhabi

by ZDcookie_996



Series: Falling for your Teammate is not a Good Thing [8]
Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: Abu Dhabi 2019, Established Relationship, Guilty Lando, Jealousy, M/M, Rookie of the Year - Freeform, Sick George, reflections, secret feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-21
Updated: 2020-08-21
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:21:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26031814
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZDcookie_996/pseuds/ZDcookie_996
Summary: A reflection of Lando and George's relationship as they race in Abu Dhabi whilst Lando battles his feelings for Carlos.
Relationships: Lando Norris/Carlos Sainz Jr, Lando Norris/George Russell
Series: Falling for your Teammate is not a Good Thing [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1530578
Kudos: 16





	Lights Out in Abu Dhabi

**Author's Note:**

> Hello all! Here's another installment to this series! I know that some of you have been waiting for so long for another update so I can only apologise for taking so long! This update is similar to a part update of 'I'm so confused' although this update focuses more on Lando and George as well as Lando's thoughts on their relationship. Whilst I know that a lot of you want to see more Lando/Carlos, I feel that I've been focusing a lot on Carlos and so I thought it would be good to give people an insight into why Lando is cheating on his boyfriend and the issues within their relationship. I must add that I don't know what was wrong with George when he was in Abu Dhabi so this is my own interpretation of it. As well as that, in this story, McLaren and Williams share a hotel and I don't know when either of George or Lando's parents arrived so we'll just make out that they arrived ahead of the race weekend. I wasn't sure if I could copy and paste anything from my previous story so I've just added Carlos in and tried to give you all a visual on what George was doing in that time frame. I hope you all enjoy and to give a prior warning, I am only planning to have another 2 installments before finishing this series so if anyone has any ideas, please leave comments!
> 
> 'I'm so confused' - https://archiveofourown.org/works/23433844

When George woke up again for the third time in the space of half an hour, he wondered whether or not it was worth it to keep constantly falling in and out of sleep. He was currently on a flight to Abu Dhabi with Lando and they weren’t even half way there. If he had it his way, he would’ve stayed in bed as he had not been feeling himself over the past few days. He had already informed the team just in case they questioned whether or not he should drive. So here he was, fighting back sleep. He looked over at Lando who was sitting beside him and was distracted by the film he was watching. It took Lando a minute or two to work out that there were eyes on him and he turned to see George looking at him, sleepily. He pulled out one of his earphones.

“Hey, you alright?” 

George huffed and ran a hand through his hair as he tried to get himself comfortable again as his legs began to ache. 

“Could be better.” He said honestly.

Lando looked at him with concern in his eyes. George hated that he wasn’t feeling great because he knew Lando would worry not just about the race but his health as well. The young Brit leaned across to stroke George’s cheek.

“Try and get some more sleep.” He said softly.

George felt his eyes droop as sleep took over again. He welcomed the darkness and didn’t hear Lando sigh before turning back to his movie as the earphone went back into his ear. 

He was still extremely tired and not feeling his best when he got to Abu Dhabi. Aleix had told him to rest and that he would keep the team informed. George was just glad that Lando was keeping him company even if he knew that McLaren would be suspicious about why he wasn’t in his room. He kept falling asleep and waking up again like he did on the plane but he had hardly trained or planned anything for that day as he was more focused on getting himself ready for media day and showing the team that he could drive at the weekend. Lando was making sure that George was drinking plenty of water. He hated seeing his boyfriend unwell but they were both sure that George would be fine to race. Lando looked down at his phone and noticed that it was only on 10% and he forgot to pick up his charger which was still in his room. He glanced over at George. 

“I need to go and grab my phone charger, I’ll be right back.” He said softly as George blinked up at him.

George didn’t answer and Lando sighed before he leaned down to kiss him on the forehead. The brunette ended up falling asleep and wasn’t aware that Carlos had followed Lando, nor that they had kissed. He was still asleep when Lando came back but his obliviousness to time would mean that he didn’t question Lando the next morning about how it would take him so long to grab a phone charger when they were both staying on the same floor of the hotel. Instead, in the morning, he focused on getting himself ready for media day. He had already messaged Claire to inform her that he would be in the paddock so he could get tested by doctors at the medical centre if he needed to. 

He could sense Lando watching him but he was fine. He would be fine. 

Lando ended up going back to his room to get ready so George went downstairs to save them a table. The brunette tried not to be annoyed at the fact that most of the conversation was centred about whether George was fit to drive.

“Lando, I’ll go to the medical centre and speak to the doctors but I promise you, I’ll be fine to race.” George insisted.

Lando played around with his food on the plate.

“I know, I just want you to be alright.” He said quietly.

“I will be.” Replied George, determined.

“They’re saying that Sergey could take your seat if you can’t drive.” Said Lando.

“Yeah, well they won’t need him.” Responded George, tiredly. 

That was the end of the conversation.

George looked up to see Carlos passing their table as he continued to eat and he didn’t even question his boyfriend who suddenly launched into a conversation concerning Christmas, unaware that Lando wanted to distract himself as Carlos was in his view over his boyfriend’s shoulder. 

Lando and George went their separate ways after breakfast, both making their way to the track and George went to see his team before heading to the medical centre. Whilst George was busy with the team going over his media responsibilities for the day, Lando was cornered by his teammate who was determined to find out why the younger driver was avoiding him like the plague. 

Lando was glad to be spending more time with George even if it was in the form of an interview with Sky but they were joined by Alex and although Lando was slightly jealous of the banter he had with his boyfriend, he spoke highly of him when he was asked about how George had performed this season. He let George compliment his friend and had to admit secretly that he was a little annoyed when George told Alex to go first, though he did enjoy it when his boyfriend took the mick out of Alex for his damage control. He was glad that he was close with George and Alex to do this interview and that Simon and Johnny were people that he got along with. His mind nearly went when he was asked about Carlos but he just tried to act natural and not give anything away, especially in front of George.

None of the rookies could believe it when they were asked to do the competition for rookie of the year. All three knew it was just a bit of PR fun but they all knew they could have been doing something more interesting in that time. Still, if the fans wanted to see something like that, then they weren’t about to deny them. They already knew they were going to be taking the mick out of each other. Lando knew that George was going to do a powerpoint which wasn’t a surprise given that he was an expert on them. Both he and Alex took everything in good stride when George tried to use things to his advantage even though his car was one of the slowest on the grid but at least they could give him something for driving. George didn’t mind driving for Williams. In his eyes, he could build himself up to go to one of the top teams and earn himself a fast car but he knew that when he began racing in F1 that he wasn’t going to win podiums or wins with a car like the Williams. Alex did a wrap which Lando and George were impressed with and as much as it was funny and it made him look good, you could argue in Lando’s words that it was probably better than some of his races. Lando, himself, did a video which both Alex and George thought could have had a bit more effort in as it only focused really on overtaking. Alex won the rookie of the year and as much as all the boys wanted to win, Alex performed the best and so George and Lando voted for him. Whilst they all made fun of each other, although George didn’t do that as much with Lando anymore because they were in a relationship, they all got on and so they all knew that there were no hard feelings as much as they all wanted some form of trophy this year. 

George was glad to get a good sleep ahead of Friday. He had promised Claire the day before that he would go back to the medical centre to get confirmation that he was fine to drive. He had never been more relieved when he was cleared to drive. 

The rest of the weekend passed without any more incidents. Lando was happy that his boyfriend was free to race but he couldn’t help but be distracted about Carlos. He had so far been avoiding his teammate but he was aware that it wasn’t going to last long. By Saturday night, he found himself walking along the corridor to his room when he was grabbed by Carlos and dragged back in the direction he had just come from and into Carlos’ room. He found himself being honest with his teammate about the fact that he liked him. He couldn’t hold back anymore which was why he had been avoiding him and he didn’t want to admit it. Unfortunately for him, Carlos was someone who wouldn’t back down in any given situation so he told him the truth. He tried to play ignorant but it didn’t work so he ended up blurting out the truth. Carlos looked relieved and they ended up sharing a kiss until Lando remembered that he was supposed to be meeting his dad in the lounge. As much as he didn’t want to turn Carlos down, he had to go. Once he left the room, he prayed that his dad wouldn’t ask any questions about where he had been. It wasn’t until he was in the lounge that he found not just his dad but his mum, George and George’s parents were there too. He ended up sitting beside George listening to their parents talk about their careers and their first year in F1. What annoyed him the most about his parents and George’s parents being together was they wanted to plan Christmas. He hadn’t spoken to George about Christmas even though it would be their first Christmas together as a couple. All he had planned for the winter break was a trip to Dubai and even then, George wouldn’t be there. He focused on George’s arm around his waist as he listened to the chat in front of him going by in a blur. As much as he enjoyed spending time with his parents and George’s family, he was glad when he was able to go back to his room to rest ahead of the race the next day.

The race didn’t go too bad for McLaren in the end. Lando finished P8 whilst Carlos finished P10. the young Brit knew that his boyfriend would be annoyed that he was finishing the season with no points but at least he had a better qualifying record than Robert did. He didn’t have time to comfort George about it as the rest of the evening after the race focused on the post race debrief and plans for the end of season testing. Lando was just happy when his head hit the pillow that night after a long day.

The following day was the day ahead of the first round of testing and Lando found himself spending more time with George, George’s parents and his family. He was quite glad that they just spent the day chilling by the harbour although he did feel guilty when Carlos messaged him to ask if he wanted to spend the day together. Lando ended up listening to his dad’s chat with George’s father, Steve, about how they could spend time during winter testing riding carts with their boys. He wasn’t entirely against the idea, it was more so his dad planning everything for him and he wanted to do some things by himself. His relationship with George was practically his first serious relationship and as much as he loved George, there was a part of him that wondered whether or not they were just meant to be friends and nothing more. He knew that his dad was aware that he didn’t really approve of him planning Christmas but his family got along with George and his family which he was grateful for. It was just at times he preferred to spend time with just George and not have his parents embarrass him or feel like George’s parents were judging him although George had insisted that his parents adored him. There was a part of him that didn’t fit in. When he began his relationship with George, there was a part of him that wondered why George liked him and yet his boyfriend had insisted that he loved Lando and that no one was perfect. Lando wasn’t perfect. He knew, deep down, that George deserved someone better than him. One of the issues that Lando had was his jealousy over George’s friends. There were times where he felt lonely and he felt embarrassed to tell George. When his boyfriend went to Los Angeles with Alex and their friends after the race in Texas, Lando had been annoyed and he wished that he could fit in with George’s friends. He liked Alex but he wanted to be in Alex’s place. He felt himself when he was with Carlos, he didn’t have to pretend to like his family because he got along really well with Carlos’ family. It wasn’t an excuse as to why he was going around George’s back with his own teammate but he could never explain it to George. His boyfriend was a nice guy but he did deserve someone better than Lando. He just couldn't admit what was going on because he didn’t want to hurt him.

Lando’s jealousy returned in full swing when George took him back to his room before they were due to go out for dinner with their parents.

“I wanted to let you know that I won’t be going home straight away after testing because Aleix has asked me to stay for a day or two so I need to change my flight.” He informed Lando.

“Oh?”

Lando tried to act like he was interested but he was annoyed that George wasn’t going to be flying home with him and jealous of the fact that he was going to be spending time with Aleix. As much as he liked his boyfriend’s trainer, he felt that they spent a lot of time together and he was aware that George would be going to Lanzarote for pre-season training in January. 

"He wants to spend the day out in the desert with some buggies seeing as I'm well again. He thinks we deserve a bit of fun now that the season is over." George elaborated. 

Lando just nodded. 

"Are you going to get your flight changed?" He asked curiously. 

"Aleix is going to deal with it." Said George. 

Lando didn't respond. He didn't want George to spend more time with his trainer but it had already been planned. He wondered if he could get his flight changed so he could travel back home with his parents. After dinner, Lando spoke with his dad as well as Martin who was able to clear it with the team that he could travel home earlier than planned. 

He was so glad when testing was out of the way. As much as he enjoyed driving, it had been a long season and he was looking forward to relaxing for a bit before the new season started. It would've been nice to travel back with his boyfriend but that wasn't happening. 

He had just finished changing out of his race suit when Carlos came in and questioned him about his flight. He didn't question how Carlos knew as he had only told George before he went to bed the previous night and other than that, only his parents and some members of the team knew. Carlos asked about George, obviously wondering why Lando wasn't travelling home with his boyfriend given that he still had a day of testing to do. The Spaniard could sense that his teammate was jealous of George's trainer but he kept quiet and instead asked him about whether he would like to spend time with him ahead of the end of season party and ball that McLaren were due to have at the end of the week. He was happy when his teammate agreed. Lando then shocked Carlos by kissing him. He didn't know what compelled him to do it given that it was always Carlos who kissed him. Perhaps he was still jealous of Aleix but he knew it wasn't George's fault. He just focused on Carlos in that moment. He reluctantly pulled away when his phone started ringing. It was Jon and so it meant that he would have to head to the airport as his trainer had organised transport for him. He left his teammate standing in his drivers room as he left to go and meet Jon then walked out of the paddock with him and onwards to the airport with his family. 

Lando found himself looking at his phone whilst everyone slept around him but he was too awake. He found himself looking at his wallpaper which was a picture of himself and George back from when they did their photos shoot at the start of the year with F1 racing magazine where Lando was standing beside George as they both looked at the camera. He just kept staring at it. George had messaged him on his way to the airport to wish him a safe flight but Lando hadn't replied. He was too busy thinking about Carlos. He had told the Spaniard that he would message him when he got home. Given that he hadn't called his teammate previously and had spent a lot of time ignoring him, he did honestly feel guilty about it but he was now determined that he would get in touch with Carlos. He decided that it would be a good idea to spend some time with just his teammate ahead of the end of season party. 

He would call Carlos and he would arrange to spend time with him. Carlos couldn't be ignored any longer and unbeknownst to the young Brit, that's just what his teammate wanted.


End file.
